Because He Loved Her
by katydid897
Summary: Marshall Lee has always loved Fionna. Ever since he met her. Even without her knowing it, he was her protector, her best friend, and her confidant.  They were nothing more than friends until one summer's night, when it all changed.
1. Just a Kiss

He and Fionna were best friends. They had known each other for a very long time in her eyes. In his, not so much, nonetheless, she had grown up with him by her side ever since she moved out on her own at the tender age of thirteen. Marshall knew that this was a mistake, she should have stayed with her parents longer, enjoyed their company while she had them, but she was intent on living on her own.

So he had let her move into one of his old houses. He had always looked out for her, with and without her knowledge and he had loved her even then, before he had even known that it was love, he had loved her fiercely and would destroy anyone who harmed her. He loved her. He soon realized this and was shocked at himself, him, the Vampire King, falling in love with a human girl? A human girl who happened to be only thirteen years old?

He knew she was too young. He knew this and he was content with waiting until she was older to pursue any kind of romantic aspect to their relationship. Until then, he was fine with being her best friend, confidant and fellow adventurer. He had a great deal of patience; after all, patience is one of those things you pick up over a thousand years. However, not that much longer after his realization, one beautiful summer's eve, just after sunset, he looked at her and knew.

She had just turned seventeen and liked to think of herself as all 'grown up' yet she was still the same Fionna he had known and loved before. Her spirit was strong and adventurous and she was beautiful inside and out. He looked at her that summer's night while she gazed up at the sky and knew that this was the girl he had been looking for. Girls like Fionna came along rarely with few and far between and Marshall Lee wasn't going to let her get away.

It was that warm night, under the stars in a field upon the hill, with the lightning bugs glowing and the crickets chirping in the background while he strummed his guitar and hummed a tune. She had her head resting on his shoulder, a gesture that, to Marshall brought pure joy, but to Fionna was purely innocent. She pointed out a shooting star and told him that he must wish on it, it would be sure to come true. Marshall thought for a moment and knew what he would wish for. He wanted an end for the longing; he wanted to mean more to Fionna than just her 'best bud'. He made his wish and it was then that Marshall decided that he was done waiting.

She had changed from a pretty girl into a beautiful young woman while he had stayed the same, perfectly, forever eighteen. He had thought and even secretly even hoped, only for Fionna's best interest, that his love would diminish over time, but that was not the case. Actually quite the contrary, each day his love for her doubled. Sometimes it felt as if his heart, dead and un-beating, would be ripped out of his chest with the love he felt. When he was with her, she made him feel alive again. Everything about her was amazing, the way she could go from the fanciest of dances one moment, to slaying a beast with her sword the next. Everything was so effortless for her.

He turned and looked at her, her eyes half closed as she dozed, listening to his music, her hair, which was so often up, cascading down her shoulders, her lips, barely parted, full and beautiful. The more he looked at her lips, the more he wanted to kiss them, he wanted to kiss Fionna, to kiss her over and over again and tell her exactly what she meant to him. He knew he couldn't do this, and he wouldn't. He was horribly afraid that he would mess up his chances with her and she would never talk to him again. He closed his eyes and exhaled sharply, annoyed at the situation.

He decided to start singing. That always helped him to concentrate and control his emotions. He began to sing the some he had written for her, only yesterday. It was a song of love, of undisclosed desire, of every feeling of want, of hope, of longing that he had ever felt. It trailed off on a blank note, it was unfinished, and it would remain so for now. It was too hard to think about what might never be. It would end up breaking his heart and hers if things went badly; they already were so intertwined within each other's lives, doing anything to separate them from each other for any extended period of time would be like taking a chunk out of their lives. The words, new ones now, were tinged with melancholy notes. They were, for all the uncertainty, the fear and caution that surrounded his love.

Fionna picked up her head and looked at him. He refused to meet her eyes, afraid that he would get lost in their blue depths and would lose control of himself. He preoccupied himself with counting stars until she went back to dozing. He counted exactly seven stars when he felt something warm and soft again his cheek. Fionna's hand cupped his cheek, firmly, but softy as well. She turned his head and forced him to look at her and quietly asked him if everything was alright. She was concerned, it showed in her kind eyes, and her voice was soft, comforting, like silk moving over her lips.

He was going to reassure her, tell her nothing was wrong, but something stopped him. Something inside of him made him consider her words earlier; that if her were to wish on the star, it would be sure to come true. He had wished. Therefore, according to Fionna, it was inevitable. So instead of reassuring her, he leaned down and kissed her. It was a brief yet tender kiss. It was full of love and longing. He wanted that moment to last forever, yet he pulled back before it had even begun and took up his bass again, strumming some notes absentmindedly while he awaited her reaction. He didn't have to wait long. He stole a quick glance at her and watched as she put her hand to her lips and rested them there. She stared off into the ground as she tried to make sense of what had happened in the moments prior.

He waited and continued counting the stars as he had before. This time he got to sixty before Fionna said a word. When she did, she whispered his name. Said it so softly that even he, with his supernatural hearing, could barely hear it. She repeated herself once more and looked at his. He gazed back at her, his eyes questioning. He felt good about what had happened, but there was a part of him, a part that was growing greater with each passing moment of silence on her part, that feared that she would run off.

She didn't though, quite the contrary; she looked at him with her large blue eyes and, still very quietly, asked him why he had done that. There was no accusation, no anger or disgust in her voice, just curiosity. It was impossible for him to know what she was thinking. He blushed lightly, glad that it was dark enough out that his face was in shadow.

He took a moment and composed himself and when he responded, it was no lengthy declaration of how he knew she was the one for him the moment he saw her, it was no love novel with words that would fill hours upon hours. When he spoke it was four words. They were simple and to the point. He had said what his reason was, just as she asked. He had kissed her because he loved her; it was as simple as that.

He told her and it was as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his very soul. He felt as if he could be himself more. It all depended on her reaction, on whether or not she was shocked away from him. The next few moments would be life altering for him and he would remember and replay them over and over in his mind for years to come.


	2. One More Time

He was right, Fionna was shocked. However, once she thought about it, it made perfect sense. She had been hiding her infatuation with the vampire for a long time as well and she had been completely unaware of his feeling towards her. When he kissed her, the wish that she had made on the shooting star had come true and she had never been happier. She had loved him even then, before she had even known that it was love, she had loved him fiercely and would destroy anyone who harmed him.

She glanced up at him, floating a few inches in the air with his legs crossed, playing with his guitar and decided to make a bold move. She was always a brave girl who forged paths for herself and this time it would be no different. She got on her knees, bringing her head to the same height as Marshall's and inched towards him. He was still looking at the sky, unaware of her presence and she got extremely close before he turned towards her. Quickly she leaned in and kissed his lips as she brought one hand to his cheek.

The second kiss was even better than the first. This time both parties knew that their feelings were mutual, and the fear and caution they both had felt, dissolved. This time the kiss was love and life and Heaven and Earth all wrapped into one glorious moment. Marshall placed his hands at Fionna's hips and pulled her up into his lap. He broke away from the kiss only when he thought Fionna needed to breath, he, being a vampire, did not have that need.

As she caught her breath, he bent his head and whispered into her ear all the things that he wanted to say, how he had always loved her and how he had waited for her. Gently he lifted a stray strand of hair out of her face and told her how beautiful she was. She was not a large part of his life, she was his whole life. He woke up looking forward to seeing her and went to slept only to dream of her. He scheduled his life; concerts, shows and parties around any time that he might be with Fionna. He never wanted to miss a second of her company.

They spent the rest of the evening together under the stars, something that was not uncommon for the two. What was uncommon was the way they spent it. As they lay there in the summer heat, Fionna rested her head on his chest and listened to his song. This time they lyrics, which had been so haunting and melancholy, now were transformed into a perfect love song. It was the perfect soundtrack for that night, from that first, life altering kiss, to the way Marshall's arms wrapped protectively around her as she fell asleep on him. Strapping his guitar to his back, he gently picked her up and started off to the house he had given her all those years ago.

He stepped inside and oh-so-carefully laid Fionna in her bed. It was as dark as pitch inside but he could have maneuvered around her home with his eyes closed. Even though he hadn't stepped inside for at least fifty years, he was amazed at how familiar everything was. As he quietly closed the door to her room behind him and stepped into the living room, memories washed over him. He had lived here, a long time ago, with his last girlfriend Ashley. Reflecting on that now, he realized that the way it ended was inevitable, it was a self destructive relationship that only sufficed to drag his spirit through the mud and shatter his heart into a million tiny pieces.


	3. Ashley

Ashley herself was the main reason for this. She was an immortal, like him, and had sought him out one night after seeing him perform at _Red_, the vampire club in the next county over. He played there often in his life but had never seen her there. She was a very attractive girl, not a vampire, but a witch. Although Marshall could think of a few choice words rhyming with witch that could have described her better.

She had followed him out of the club one night and asked if he'd like to get drink with her. Marshall, ever a gentleman, agreed and bought her a drink. She called the next morning and the two of them arranged to meet that night after sunset in the Ember Forest just south of the fire kingdom. The date went rather well and they looked forward to seeing each other nearly every night after that.

She was bold and that was something Marshall liked about her. So many of the girls he met were so shy and timid that they would often let their own needs be ignored for fear that it would bother him. Ashley wasn't like that though. She was unafraid of how it would be perceived be him. If she was hungry, she would ask him to make her a sandwich. If she was tired, she would announce that she was going to bed. She honestly didn't care what his reaction was. And Marshall liked that about her.

However, sometimes she could be a bit harsh in her orders; if Marshall didn't immediately start doing what she asked, she would begin to snap at him. She was also very inconsiderate of the 'limitations' that Marshall faced being a vampire. She was constantly making them food purposely without even a slight hint of red in them. Sometimes she even went as far as putting garlic in the food.

Marshall knew that this was a game for her, to see how far she could push him before he broke. He was tired of playing along. However, every time that he tried to leave her, she would cry and guilt him into staying. One time, he had even felt so bad for making her cry, that he had let her move in with him. That was when he lived in the tree house, and one of the reasons why he hadn't been back in decades.

Marshall knew that this was a mistake, but it was too late, she had already started packing her things. He knew that he was just playing into her hands. Ashley only did things that would help her. She was essentially a gold digger. He saw that now, and oh how he wished he had seen it then. For one night, Ashley did something that no amount of fake tears could erase from him mind.

When Marshall was a child, his best friend was a teddy bear called Hambo. This tattered, torn and patched piece of cloth had stayed with Marshall since then, nearly one thousand years, and remained one of the few things he had left of his mother. The stitched, each one stitched with love, was a gift from her. He had kept Hambo, even when his fur became torn and matted and his eyes fell off. Hambo was one of the most important things in his life.

One day, he went into his room and just happened to look up to see that the shelf he had placed Hambo on was bare. He was confused at first and searched his room, looking for any sign of his dear friend. He found nothing. Suddenly, it hit him and he was furious. He knew exactly who had taken the bear. The only other person who was allowed into his house, let alone his bedroom. Ashley.

He stormed out into the living room just as she opened the front door. His hands balled into fists, so tightly that his fingernails bit into his palms. His jaw clenched and his eyes became slits. Everything in his vision was tinged with red. He was enraged.

Ashley, on the other hand, was completely joyful and unaware, as always, of Marshall's feelings. She couldn't wait to show him the brand new wand she had just gotten. She had had to bargain with the wizard for hours, although eventually, she got the better end of the deal. All it had cost her was that ratty old bear that Marshall kept in his room. Something that loved, not to mention, old, was rare and was expensive. Almost as expensive as the cherry blossom wand that she had been coveting. The wand she now held in her hand.

Marshall watched as she practically skipped across the room and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He took a deep breath to try and steady himself and began speaking through clenched teeth. He very calmly, deliberately slowly, remarked that she had taken Hambo. This was not a question, or even an accusation, but a simple statement of fact. They both knew she had.

She didn't deny it or try to change the subject as he had expected her to. Instead, she responded, in an eerily cheerful voice, which was uncommon for her, that he needed to be more patient, that she was just about to tell him about that. She gestured to the branch in her hand and told him frankly that, the teddy bear he loved so much? She had sold it. To a wizard.

Marshall was shocked into absolute silence. He was frozen. He just stood there, a stone statue, unblinking as Ashley blabbered on about what a good deal she had gotten. When he recovered some control of himself, he found his eyes watering, although in sadness or rage, he couldn't say. He spoke and his voice cracked, He cleared his throat and started again, repeating the witch's words of how she had gone into his room, and taken the most important thing in the world to him. How she had taken it and sold it to a wizard, just so she could get a new wand. Ashley looked at him with a contemplating expression, as if she couldn't figure him out.

She nonchalantly replied how of course she sold Hambo; it was a great deal, one that she couldn't pass up. Marshall's stone expression cracked, his lip twitched and his face transformed into something from a nightmare. His mouth was now a sea of fangs and his eyes shone red. He yelled at Ashley unlike he had ever spoken to a woman before. He screamed how it was over between them and that no amount of fake tears could make up for this. He finished by saying haw she was a psycho. He quickly turned on his heels and as he was walking away, he said over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn around, how it shouldn't take her too long to pack her things; she had barely moved any of her things to his home yet. He told her how he wanted her gone by morning and slammed the door to his bedroom shut behind him, sufficiently ending the conversation.


	4. Back Against the Wall

After he slammed the door on Ashley, he floated over his bed, quietly fuming. Almost immediately though, he began to feel bad. In all his life, he liked to think of himself as an _almost_ perfect gentleman, and screaming at Ashley, no matter what she had done to him, was completely unacceptable. He briefly considered going back out and apologizing, especially as he heard her start to quietly cry.

She whimpered out his name as she did ever time he tried to leave. The only difference this time was that he stopped himself from comforting her. He didn't open his door and begin apologizing, he didn't pick her up in his arms and take her out to dinner and shower her with apologies. He sat in his room and pulled his knees to his chest.

He listened, through the shut door as she began to slowly mull around their shared house, packing up her few things that she had brought over. Most of it was still in boxes, and a greater portion was still at her house. He assumed that she would go there, so he wasn't that concerned about her finding a place to stay.

Ashley placed the last bag outside the door sadly; she had been procrastinating as long as she could, desperate for the Vampire King to come out from the depths of his room. For that was all she saw in him, his title. Sure he was attractive, very much so, but in the end, he was just another pawn in Ashley's ever continuing game of making herself more popular. In the end, he was just a very popular guitar player who could get her into all the most exclusive clubs. The fact that he was also the King of the Vampires didn't hurt either.

All she had to do was drop his name in a sticky situation, and it would all clear up for her. While Marshall Lee was praised across Aaa as a guitar player, he was also feared by even the most powerful warlords for his fierce temper. All she needed to say was that she was his girlfriend and he would be **very** upset if anything happened to her, and she had people wrapped around her little finger. She loved the power of it all.

Now it was all gone. She was sad, not because of the loss of her boyfriend, but because of the loss of her power over nearly everyone. She walked back into the house that they had shared, the house she was just kicked out of, and walked over to Marshall's room. She hesitated outside and looked around, the kitchen to her left, adjoining to the living room; she had so many memories of him making her sandwiches while she reclined on the couch.

The dark, heavy curtains on every window, she thought for a moment about tearing them down. Maybe he would take her back if he was too injured by the daylight to think of anything but healing. She thought about it, but then quickly bashed the idea down. What if word got out about her attempting to kill the Vampire King? No one would go near her then, she couldn't let that happen. It would ruin everything.

So instead, she brought her fist up to Marshall's door and knocked twice, softly on the wooden door. She pressed her ear to the door and listened to the guitarist strum a simple melody. He stopped though, and it sounded like he would open the door. Instead of opening however, all she heard was the slight click from the door being locked. She called out his name like she practiced, soft and sweet and innocent, with a twang of heartbrokenness lying beneath. It always worked with him. He was too much of a gentleman, at least towards the ladies. This ignoring her was way out of character for him, she must have really done it this time. She shook her head, sending her white hair flying. She walked back the way she came and slammed the door loudly. She picked up her bags and chanted a few words, enabling her with the ability to teleport back to her house.

Upon the bang from the door, it seemed like the house itself sighed. Schwabble, the zombie poodle from the cloud kingdom that was the vampire's faithful companion, nosed her way out from the kitchen where she had been hiding beneath the table. She despised Ashley. That within itself should have been enough to deter Marshall from dating her; the dog had always been a good judge of character. She walked to Marshall's door and scratched at it, whining softly.

Marshall had also heard the door close, and it felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his chest. He didn't have to worry about apologizing, she wasn't there anymore. He floated over to his door and opened it, letting the tiny ball of white fluff jump onto him. He picked her up and sat there, in the door way to his room, thinking about what he should do next.

After a long while thinking, he decided that maybe it was time for a much needed vacation. He would travel all over Aaa like he had been planning for about a century. The only thing that had stopped him was the recent addition of Ashley into his schedule. Now that his schedule was cleared, he could return to the things he loved, traveling, rocking and having an all around good time. The first thing he decided was to move back into one of his over homes, the cottage he had within a cave.

It was a classic, stereotypical vampire lair, yet he loved it. It was dark, and homey with no way that the sunlight could get to him. It had been his original home in the land, but he had several other additionally places of residence, including the tree house. Funny how he kept ending up back there…

Marshall sat up with a jolt; a loud noise had woken up from his memories. He rubbed his head, it was daytime. He knew that by the way the room was bathed in a sort of half light. Looking around him, he thought for a minute he was still back in his memories, but as he listened, he could hear the heartbeat of the human he knew and loved. He sat up and the couch, a wretched old thing, creaked obscenely loudly, and he could hear Fionna's heart rate increase with surprise. He turned invisible as to not scare her and leaned back against the couch again, this time resting his weight on the floor as to not disturb the creaky springs.


	5. The Story of a Girl

Fionna opened her eyes and blinked a few times, trying to gain her bearings of where she was and how she got there. After about ten seconds she realized that she was in her bed, at the tree house. But how did she get there?

She sat up and thought back to the night before, she and Marshall had been sitting out on the hill, their hill, he had been singing to her, then they had wished on a shooting star. She smiled slightly, remembering her wish, then she felt her cheeks grow warm and she knew that if she looked in the mirror her cheeks would be bright red.

After she had made her wish, it had, miraculously, come true. Marshall had kissed her. He had said he loved her. It was like a dream. She whipped the sleep from her eyes and considered it. Maybe it had been a dream. Only in her dreams had she ever told Marshall how she had felt. Only in her dreams had he ever felt the same way.

She threw the blankets off of her and looked down at herself; she was still fully clothed, all except for her shoes which were on the floor next to the bed. She pondered that for a moment, she always got into pajamas, no matter how tired she was… She shrugged it off and went to the bathroom and quickly brushed her teeth, then went downstairs. It was so quiet around her house now; it was ever since Cake married Lord Monochromicorn. The newlyweds had moved over to the dark dimension, at least temporarily, but she called at least every week. Fionna still felt lonely sometimes. Maybe that was why she was spending so much time with Bubba and Marshall lately.

Thinking of Bubba, Prince Gumball officially, brought a slight smile to her face. He was one of her best friends, the second person she officially met after moving to the tree house. The first being Marshall, of course, he had tried to run her and Cake out, but she had won that little battle, even managing to warrant a kiss on the cheek from the vampire king.

Back then, around the time of her being thirteen, she had had the most ridiculous crush on the ruler of the Candy Kingdom. Looking back on it now it made her laugh; she had been head over heels for the candy prince. After that, she had met the Flame Prince. He had pretty hot, but he was also pretty evil. It was doomed to fail. She still had had feeling for Prince Gumball though, and for a few more years, he was the one she thought of the most.

Gumball was five years older than her, but she never thought that age was that important, as long as two people loved each other, nothing should separate them. Lately though, she had been thinking about someone with a bit more of an age difference. Marshall Lee. The feelings she felt with him were different than those she felt with Bubba, it was more than childish infatuation. It was love.

He was a devious miscreant as the Prince liked to say, and an evil creep as Cake said. But they didn't know him like she did. She had known him for five years and she thought that she was one of his best friends, he had said as much a few times. However, thinking about it, Marshall and Bubba had been close once, nearly best friends. But something had torn them apart; they could barely stand to be near each other anymore. Sometimes she worried that the same thing would happen with her and Marshall. She had nightmares that Marshall would never want to see her again, that she would never be able to talk with him or listen to his sweet melodies.

She shook her head to get the images out and cursed softly as she banged her hip into the side of the counter. She stepped into the kitchen and was surprised to see gray apples upon the kitchen table. She hadn't remembered Marshall leaving any there the last time he had come over. She walked over to the freezer and got out some ice to put on her now-bruised hip. In response to the sound of the old freezer door groaning shut loudly, Fionna heard the springs of her couch squeak.

She instantly became defensive. Slowly, she inched to the doorway where the kitchen meets the living room but was dismayed to find that no one was there. She crept back into the kitchen and grabbed one of the many swords she kept hidden around her house. Holding it firmly in her hands she slipped into the larger room and moved to the couch. Still, she saw no one.

Puzzled, she walked over to the window and opened the curtains, bathing the room with sunlight. She could defiantly see better now. Yet she didn't need to, for almost immediately after she opened the curtains, a loud hiss emerged from beneath the couch. Hesitantly, she got down on her knees and peered into the shadows beneath the piece of furniture. Just at the edge of where the shadows turned into light, sat a tiny bat, shielding itself from the daylight with its wings. As it caught sight of Fionna, a flurry of loud chirps erupted from the small creature. It sounded mad, or scared, or both.

Fionna sat in a way that her shadow cast itself onto the couch, and the bat was out of the sun. She reached under and cupped the tiny animal in her palm. She brought it to her and tickled its stomach with her forefinger. The bat chirped happily and nuzzled against her. Still shielding it from the sun, Fionna turned and unhooked the curtains, Throwing the room back into the half-lit state it had been in when she had entered. She placed the bat delicately on her couch and stood up, dusting herself off and heading towards the kitchen. She turned back and asked the creature if it would like some strawberries, she was going to get some for herself anyways.

Just as she turned the corner into the cooking area, she heard the familiar voice that she expected replying that strawberries would be great. She smirked to herself, Marshall never could resist strawberries.


	6. Honey Let Me Sing You A Song

Fionna snatched a large wooden bowl and poured in a healthy amount of strawberries, just enough for one person. That was all they need for the two of them, as Marshall sucked the red and Fionna ate the grey fruit. At first, she had been surprised that the things Marshall 'ate' still tasted the way they should. But thinking about it now, she considered that the color isn't what holds the taste, so they still should taste normal, even once the color was drained.

Back in the living room, Marshall, now back in his normal form, floated above the couch and stretched. He went into the kitchen and snagged a plump red strawberry from the bowl. He kissed Fionna's cheek before leaning back and extending his fangs slightly. Touching the strawberry to his fang with the slightest amount of pressure, the color began to fade quickly and before long, the strawberry became a dull grey color. He offered it to Fionna, who accepted it and chewed on it thoughtfully.

He took another berry and watched as Fionna face scrunched up, obviously deep in thought. Curious he floated over to her and ruffled her hair, asking her what was on her mind. She blinked twice, coming back to the present and told him of a strange dream she had dreamt the night before. She pulled her knees to her chest as she told him how it had seemed so real, that she had wanted it to be real. But at the same time, she knew that it couldn't have been real, for it was too good to be true.

At her vague response, Marshall, of course, wanted to know every detail about said dream. Fionna, already scrunched up on the wooden chair, pulled her knees even closer to her body and peered at him over the edge of her knees. She began to tell him what she believed was her dream, cautious about telling him too much in case she freaked him out with her imagination. She first described that it was the two of them on the hill, counting the stars as he played his guitar. That it had been such a beautiful night and the stars sparkled brightly. Then they had seen, and had wished on, a shooting star and she had made her wish. She paused and looked at him, gauging his reaction so far.

Marshal was curious, her dream started off almost exactly as the night prior had, and he wondered what had happened in it to make it seem so unreal. Noticing that she had stopped, he told her how much her dream sounded pretty much just like last might had. Fionna was shocked; maybe her dream had been real after all. She scrunched up her nose in thought and asked Marshall what he had wished for on the shooting star.

Marshall, confused at her changing of the subject, yet curious as to why, responded that he had wished that the rest of the night would go as perfectly as it had so far. He told Fionna that it was then, after he had made that wish, that he had built up the courage to kiss her. And his wish had come true; the rest of the night had gone absolutely perfect. He couldn't have wished for a better reaction from her. He winked and kissed her forehead lightly, reaching over her for another strawberry. Fionna just sat there and smiled. It hadn't been a dream after all.

She sat up and threw her arms around Marshall's neck hugging him to her. He laughed and hugged her back, gently pushing back a few strands of her long, golden hair that had fallen into her face. She then told him how it hadn't been a dream after all, that what she had thought had been so impossible, really had happened. Marshall grinned in response, equally glad that she had enjoyed the night before as much as he had.

Nuzzling into her hair, he slowly transformed back into the tiny bat and kissed her ear, causing Fionna to giggle softly, the sound like the tinkling of bells. She let him rest there, perched on her shoulder as she picked up the wooden bowl and proceeded to walk to the living room, gently coaxing G-MO, the little computer girl out from the cupboard where she was charging so she and Marshall could listen to some music.

As the music played, Marshall flapped his wings, blowing a small gust of wind towards Fionna's cheek. She giggled again and he jumped down, onto the couch cushion next to her. Fionna looked around the room and then back at Marshall, remarking that she didn't see his guitar anywhere. Turning back into himself, he floated over to the top of the bookshelf and came back holding his axe-bass. He remarked that it was one of the best places to hide things in the entire house. He had told her that he had put it there because he hadn't wanted her to stumble over it in the night and hurt herself.

Turning to G-MO, he noticed that her monitor was fluttering back and forth between the picture and black. Checking her battery, he turned her off and plugged her in, placing her back into the cupboard where she rested and charged. Noticing Fionna staring at him, he answered her silent question saying that the robot needed to charge some more. He went on to say that if she wanted to listen to music, he'd be glad to play for her. She nodded silently in response then told him to wait; she'd grab some more strawberries. Watching as she walked away, her long hair flowing out behind her in her wake, Marshall remarked to himself that she had to be one of the most beautiful girls in all of Aaa. He began to get lost in his daydreams when a knock at the door jolted him back to the present. He eyed Fionna who walked over to the doorway, bowl of strawberries in hand and told him to stay in the room.

Fionna opened the door and was shocked into near silence. For standing on the other side of her doorway was a man. He stood there holding a dark grey umbrella, and as he smiled at her, his fangs protruded over his lips. Fionna knew him, and she thought he was gone. But here he was, standing in her doorway, sticking to the shadows, with that same old cocky grin on his face. Elizar.


	7. Lying is the Most Fun

_**A/N: Sorry guys that I took so long to update…I'm literally working on 10 stories right now and had major writer's block. Add in a heaping spoonful of school work, and you get a very late update. I can't promise that the next one will be soon either. SORRY. I may post some of the other stories that I'm working on, if I can focus long enough to get a single chapter done… 3 I love you all. Sorry for the late update(s).**_

As Fionna stood there, in a sort of shocked silence, Elizar reached out a hand and plucked a strawberry out of the bowl still resting in her hands. He sucked it grey before tossing it carelessly over his shoulder. Fionna watched as it landed a few feet away then she turned her eyes to her visitor. She greeted him coldly before inquiring as to what in Glob's name he thought was doing coming to her house. Elizar only grinned wider, suggesting that they go out for a walk. Fionna moved to close the door after murmuring a faint noise of disagreement, but he stuck out a hand and pushed the door right back open. Breezing past her into the house and placing his umbrella by the door he leaned against the wall and looked at her. Fionna whirled around and demanded that he get out, pointing to the door with one hand. She told him that he had no business coming to the tree house.

Elizar, on the other hand, had no intention of leaving. Walking over to her, he swept his thumb across her cheek, his eyes full of tenderness towards the girl. The tenderness dissolved, however, when she shuddered and slipped away from his touch. Again she repeated her request for his departure and again he ignored her. Her constant demands that he leave were wearing on his last nerve and when she spoke again, he snapped.

Pushing Fionna towards the wall, he leaned close enough that she could feel his warm breathe on her ear. He had come to the tree house that day with a proposal. He wanted her to be with him. He whispered to her how, if she chose him, he could make her his queen and he could give her anything she could dream of. All she had to do was love him, fear him, and do as he said and he could give her the world on a silver platter. He pulled back in one fluid movement and kissed her lips. His kiss was so different than Marshall's; where Marshall's had been full of tender love with an undercurrent of desire; Elizar's was laced with selfishness and greed.

Fionna quickly turned her head, away from those greedy lips, remarking through clenched teeth how it would be pretty impossible for him to make her a queen, seeing as he was no king. She let that sink in for a moment before raising her knee sharply upwards and pushing hard at his chest with both hands. Elizar, knowing the girl's tricks all too well, stepped back at the last possible moment and her knee did not even graze him. He grabbed her arms in a vice-like grip and pinned her back against the wall. He gently placed his lips to hers again and told her he had no intent to harm her, it was all up to her.

He digressed to say that while he was not king _yet,_ he would be shortly. It would be so _easy._ With Fionna by his side, as a pair, they would be incredibly powerful. With the mixture of her tremendous swordsmanship, and ability to successfully wield almost any known weapon, and his cunning wit, they would be unstoppable. Together they would be able to kill the current Vampire King with ease.

He began to kiss hungrily down her lips, to her jaw, and down to her neck. He whispered in her ear again of how he would give her the world on a silver platter. She was to consider her decision very carefully; an opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime, if you're lucky. As he spoke, he gently scrapped his fangs along the soft skin at the base of her neck, causing Fionna to shudder, although in pleasure or disgust, not even she could tell.

Resting there, with his lips above her jugular, he could feel as well as hear the blood pulsing furiously through her veins. Elizar wanted to bite her so badly, he wanted to ever since he first met the girl. He wanted to taste her sweet coppery blood flowing over his tongue, down his throat, pooling in his stomach and fueling his strength. He wanted to drink until he felt alive again, something that he hadn't felt in a long time. He wanted all these things, yet he restrained himself, for now.

There would be a proper time and a proper place for that later on. If he were to bite her now, it would single handedly foil his entire plan. He needed to regain her trust; he needed her to open up to him. A moment of doubt would be all he needed to penetrate the walls she had built up in her mind. Once he had gotten past those barriers, it would be all too easy to control the girl. She was so fragile, so malleable, so, so...human.

He had never seen a human before he had met Fionna, except for a few glimpses here and there in older vampire's memories. He often liked to pick through the thought of the elders, he learned a great deal of the history of Aaa from them. He could also learn some of the most treasured secrets, secrets that are guarded by only a handful of the most trustworthy of red drinkers in the land. Secrets the kind that were powerful enough to easily take down the entire vampire monarchial system that had been in place for millennia.

For instance, the secret he harbored now, a secret about the current king that surely would turn Fionna to his side against him. At first, she might not believe it, hell; at first he didn't even believe it. At first. But once he thought about it for a while, it made perfect sense. He needed everything to be perfect though, if Fionna even suspected him of any ill will towards the king, he knew she would completely block him out. That was why he had to restrain himself and wait until the perfect moment, when he would bite her, turn her, and use her to help him become king. Then, he would be able to comforably live out his existance with Fionna as his queen. But none of that would work if she blocked him out.

That was the problem, with people knowing about his power. Not many very people knew, and those who did, he trusted explicitly. Even with Fionna; he knew that she would never tell anyone his secret, she was honor bound not to. A hero's promise, trivial, yes; however, if broken, it could threaten the very things the hero held dear. He didn't believe this, of course, yet Fionna did. She did so with a belief so potent that if he even dared to joke about such a thing, she would become instantly upset.

His sister, Emalie, also knew, but he trusted the girl with his life, and she felt the same way about her. He had saved her life once before, being the one who eventually turned her, and she was always trying to repay him. She would never breathe a word of his ability. There was one other who knew, but he also trusted her. It was a girl he had known for about a decade, she was a powerful witch who was also a strong ally. He didn't like to think of her often in his spare time, she was, in a word, evil, but she was smart about it. She even was willing to help him dethrone King Marshall Lee, in exchange for keeping his secret and keeping Marshall alive. Elizar remembered how once, she had prattled on about how she loved him, the saying how she sometimes wanted to run a stake through his chest and string him out in the sun. It was confusing, yes, but really, when was love ever simple?


End file.
